The year that changed everything

The year 2012 had a bit of advance buzz as a year to expect large-scale changes.  In your personal life, has 2012 turned out to be a year of change?  What large or small changes have affected your life in the first half of this year?

This week's theme is midyear.

Midyear 2012

With the year half over, it's a good time to take a look and see how 2012 is shaping up. 

What is this year's recurring theme? What makes 2012 different from other years? In particular, how is it different from 2011 for you? Could you sum up, in eight words or less, this year's unique flavor?

This week's theme is midyear.

Last Leap Day

The last time Leap Day rolled around was on February 29, 2008. Where were you on that date? What were the main concerns on your mind four years ago? And what has changed in your life since then?

This week's theme is Leap Day.

Favorite ______ of the Year

Where did you find the most fun this year: in books, movies, TV, music, games, theater, or some other form of entertainment? And within that category, what was your personal favorite this year?

This week's theme is highlights of 2011.

In the history books

Thinking of all of this year's events, inventions, and new developments, which of them, in your opinion, is likely to have the biggest impact on the future?

This week's theme is highlights of 2011.

Hero of the Year

In 2011, who saved your life, prevented a disaster, or went above and beyond the call of duty to help you out when you needed it?

This week's theme is highlights of 2011.

Gold medal

What was your best accomplishment of 2011 — the one that showed you at the top of your game?

This week's theme is highlights of 2011.

Highlights of 2011

Of all the things that happened to you this year, which do you think will stand out most vividly in your memories, looking back ten years from now?

This week's theme is highlights of 2011.

Clues

Looking back on your younger days, what were some early hints of the direction that your life would later take? What childhood events, experiences, and choices foreshadowed the major themes of your adult life?

This week's theme is pointing the way.

The color of love

When you think about your history of experiences with romantic love, what feeling comes out most strongly with your memories? Do you feel embarrassed at rash things you did, for example, or are you impressed with what you were able to do? Do you feel nostalgia, regret, sorrow, wistfulness?

This week's theme is romantic love.

Fading away

Think back to where you were six months ago, on New Year's Day 2011. What issues, concerns, or problems that seemed big in January have been decisively solved since then, or have simply faded away from your attention?

What is one of your current problems that you would like to imagine fading away in the second half of the year?

This week's theme is halfway through the year.

Mid-year status report

Most of us are perennially overoptimistic when making plans. Which of your plans and goals for 2011 have fallen way behind schedule?

On the other hand, what are some of your biggest actual accomplishments for the first half of the year? Were those things in your plans, or were they the result of unexpected opportunities?

This week's theme is halfway through the year.

The year's best

Sure, 2011 is only half over. But if you were asked to make a tentative nomination for the year's best book, best song, or best movie (pick one category), what would you choose? What work of entertainment blew your mind this year?

This week's theme is halfway through the year.

Out of left field

There were plenty of predictions and forecasts for 2011, but some of the year's huge news stories came as total surprises. How about in your personal life? What big changes in the past six months caught you by surprise?

This week's theme is halfway through the year.

Halfway through the year

Can you believe it? 2011 is already at the halfway mark! How are things going for you? Is 2011 working out to be a better year for you than 2010?

What is your highlight of the year so far — your single brightest moment for 2011?

This week's theme is halfway through the year.

I planted a seed

Did you plant a sapling several years ago that has grown into a full-size tree? Did you form a club or start a tradition that still carries on today without any effort from you? What is something you helped set in motion a long time ago that, years later, still has a visible impact?

What you left behind

What would you like people to remember about you after you've died? What do you hope they will forget?

This week's theme is mortality.

These used to fit...!

What are any major differences in your health from ten years ago? Twenty?

This week's theme is your health.

Your health

How is your general health? Do you pay a lot of attention to your health, or very little attention to it? Or somewhere in between?

This week's theme is your health.

Anger is an energy

What are some memorable times in your life when you got really angry? Do you get angry fairly often?

This week's theme is anger.